Creating clear success criteria

One of the most effective things you can do to boost learning isn’t flashy or complicated, it’s just explicitly telling students what they need to achieve by the end of the lesson.

Clear success criteria give students a target to aim for. They also make your teaching easier, because everyone knows where they’re heading. As John Hattie’s research on visible learning shows, when students understand what success looks like, achievement significantly improves (Hattie, 2009).

Unfortunately, success criteria often end up vague, hidden, or assumed. We write them in the program, but don’t spend the time testing their effectiveness with the students. Wiliam & Leahy (2015) argue that formative assessment is most powerful when it includes clear learning intentions and success criteria that are transparent and shared with students.

If you’ve ever marked some work and wondered why students didn’t meet the standard you expected, unclear criteria might be the reason.

Here are some practical ways to tighten things up:

Put Them on the Board Every Lesson
Write your success criteria somewhere visible such as on the whiteboard, in a slide, or in your class’s online space (e.g. Google Classroom). Students can’t aim for something they can’t see. Keeping them front and centre helps everyone stay focused.

Keep Them Short and Sharp
Avoid long, complicated lists. Aim for a few clear statements that capture what a good piece of work or a successful lesson looks like. The simpler and more direct, the better. This aligns with Rosenshine’s principles (2012), which highlight the importance of clear, concise objectives.

Make Them Explicit and Unambiguous
Use plain language so there’s no confusion. Instead of “demonstrates coherent understanding of genre conventions,” say “your story has a clear beginning, middle and ending.” When in doubt, simpler is better.

Model What Good Looks Like
Show examples of strong work and explain why it meets the criteria. If you can, show examples at different levels so students see the difference between a C and an A. This type of modelling, described by Bandura’s social learning theory (1977), helps students internalise expectations and strategies.

When your criteria are clear, visible, and concise, it’s easier for students to self-check, ask better questions, and produce higher-quality work. It’s also easier for you to assess fairly and consistently.

Planuva helps you build units and lessons where success criteria are embedded in every lesson and unit, so you don’t have to reinvent them every time.